On the other hand, it doesn’t hurt to constantly give it your all in helping your children make the proper choices.
This mother from North Carolina has been keeping an eye on her teens’ daily screen time, at least that’s what she’s been doing.
Actually, mother Laura Muse has a nightly ritual with her teenage son Cohen. She tucks him into bed with a kiss and takes away his cell phone for the evening at around 11:30 p.m.
Muse use a variety of strategies to monitor her kids’ screen usage and online activity, including this nightly ritual, to make sure they get enough sleep and behave appropriately.
Leon Neal / Getty is credited.
Though she has received some criticism, Muse feels justified in her actions as a mental health professional and the owner of her children’s phones. “I paid for and I own their phones. She told the New York Post, “I can look through them whenever I want.”
Although Muse acknowledges that her activities may be perceived by some parents as an infringement on their privacy, she regards it as an essential aspect of being a parent.
Muse’s method is not unique. Parents proudly discuss on social media their strategies for keeping an eye on their adolescents’ online behavior under the hashtag #RaisingTeens. According to a Malwarebytes poll, 54% of parents monitor their adolescent children’s internet activity using a variety of techniques, such as social media posts, SMS, and GPS tracking.
Muse’s watchfulness started when her kids, who were 11 at the time, acquired their first phones. She used to do sporadic weekly inspections, but now that her kids are teenagers, she does them less frequently. Though she does trust her kids, Muse thinks that keeping an eye on their online activity keeps them safe from harm and helps keep them from participating in unsuitable activities.
Leon Neal / Getty is credited.
Her efforts have occasionally brought to light troubling conduct, such when her kid posted offensive stuff on social media. She claims that by dealing with these problems head-on with her kids when they come up, she can use the opportunities to teach her lessons. Furthermore, she thinks that controlling her kids’ digital use requires open discussion and the establishment of boundaries.
Many other parents have used TikTok as a platform to defend their decision to search their kids’ phones, which has drawn harsh criticism from people who think it’s wrong.
A commenter commented, “This is not okay,” under a mother’s video.
“You don’t have to go through her phone,” said one additional person.
Another person said, “I detest parents who are incapable of respecting boundaries.”
Muse’s kids now see the value of her participation in their online lives. She sees her actions as a means of nurturing and safeguarding her kids rather than as an invasion of their privacy.
How do you feel? If it were your own children, would you or have you acted in the same way? Tell us in the comments below!
